Much like with the 80's, I've also decided to do a list of the biggest hits of the 90's in Australia which includes entries based on both their AMR and ARIA stats. Just like before, I'll only make a mention for which entries are the ARIA entries as I feel their placement on this list will speak for themselves rather than me delivering redundant commentary that will highlight how well/poorly they did compared to the AMR charts.
So, I feel there was a bit of a minor controversy with this song, mainly because Baby animals had a song from around this time known as "One word" which had a similar chorus to this track (lyric wise that is as the two songs have different tempos.) Naturally this was the big hit as U2 were on top of the world by this stage, although Baby animals had the bigger album which I guess was their consolation from us.
#81 for 1992
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#79 for 1992
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#80 for 1992
#79 for 1993
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#75 for 1994
#72 for 1995
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#66 for 1998
This was the final hit that Cher was able to score here in Australia, admittedly this comes immediately after her earlier hit on this list as it served as a huge comeback for her after a rather dormant period in the mainstream. I guess this song and the rest of the album was devoid of any autotune to reassure listeners that she could still sing at this point in her career, even though the usage of autotune has been called the Cher effect.
#68 for 1999
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#79 for 1990
#77 for 1991
This was the first of the Unforgiven trilogy, a group of songs that Metallica released over the next fifteen years which seem to have a theme of them being unable to forgive someone in their lives. This wasn't even the biggest hit of the three songs as volume two from Reload wound up being a huge hit for them later in the decade.
#80 for 1991
This was the debut single from the grunge band Collective soul, a band who only had one hit here in Australia but did very well in their native America throughout the remainder of the decade with their subsequent follow ups. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to this being the height of the grunge era, although it makes the failure of the rest of their catalogue all the more confusing if that's the case.
#71 for 1994
There haven't been that many Asian pop stars to make it big over the years in Australia, one of the select few was Seiko who scored a hit here with her duet with Donnie Wahlberg during the height of his popularity with NKOTB. Evidently this was the full extent of his solo career as he would go on to produce his younger brothers work while he fancied himself as a rapper.
#84 for 1990
This was the lead single to Prince's first album with the New power generation, a band he formed following the demise of his previous band the Revolution due to the critical and commercial failure of his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a bit of a novelty hit for him giving how there doesn't seem to be many lyrics in the song, although it was popular enough for his next single to be a worldwide smash.
#81 for 1991
This was a two for one deal from Frente, although it wasn't originally as "Lonely" was released on its own as the band's American debut single and flopped due to it being a departure from their sweet and innocent image from their debut album. They attached their cover of a New order track which also came on an E.P named after their other song which helped them score one final hit this year down under.
#72 for 1994
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#73 for 1995
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#76 for 1996
This was the last hit that Jimmy Barnes managed to achieve here in Australia, it came from his greatest hits package which he released this year to commemorate how far he had come since going solo from Cold chisel twelve years prior. This was to anticipate the return of the band later in the decade when they release new material for the first time.
#75 for 1996
Well so much for these guys being in the running for the boy band wars in Australia, admittedly they would become worthy candidates on their second album the following year but in the meantime this early single from their debut album took nearly two years to find an audience here in Australia for the main rivals of Backstreet boys. I guess it didn't help there was another song that shared this title around this time from Mel B.
#69 for 1999
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#78 for 1991
Given how "Here I am" managed to get a second wind on the Australian charts the previous year due to how well it did in America, it only makes sense that this song would also be given a second chance as it was the band's biggest hit from Labour of love II in their native UK two years prior. The other two international hits on the album "Homely girl" and "The way you do the things you do" weren't given a second chance here.
#82 for 1992
Given how Martha Walsh was no longer part of the group, it looked like C+C Music factory would struggle to find an audience with their second album which they did save for this lead single which was a huge hit for them. I guess Martha did help them stand out from all the other dance rap groups of the day, however they still brought enough to the table to help them find a respectable audience.
#73 for 1994
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#74 for 1995
This was the lead single to Tina's third album In deep, an album that didn't exactly live up to the hype that her previous album set up but was nonetheless a huge success for her here in Australia. I personally would've gone with "Now I can dance" as the lead single as that was more fun and a better album opener than this track.
#79 for 1997
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#67 for 1998
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#81 for 1992
Their big hit here might have been their cover of "Let's groove" from the following year, however CDB managed to score a big hit prior to that with this song that was originally meant for the Rockmelons while Deni Hines was still a part of the group. They eventually donated this to the RNB group when Deni left the band to go on a solo career which did spawn a huge hit for her next year.
#74 for 1994
#72 for 1995
It had been a while since Dannii Minogue troubled the charts with her pop music, so it seems inevitable she would follow in the footsteps of her older sister and move towards indie music during the second half of the decade. She did just that with this track which ranks among her more popular songs in her catalogue, although like Kylie she would return to bubble-gum pop in the new millennium.
#80 for 1997
This was the big breakthrough that Green day had from their album Dookie, an album that began its cycle with a song about masturbation which no doubt initially turned people off from the duo. This was one of the first hits to not receive a physical release in America, which is why it never charted on Billboard despite it being one of their most popular songs even to this day.
#73 for 1995
You may have noticed that Madonna had released a bunch of ballads throughout her career, she certainly noticed as she collected all of her biggest hits in this vein onto her themed greatest hits album Something to remember which she released around this time. This was the first of three songs released from the album, proving that audiences wanted to hear more of her sombre tracks going forward.
#74 for 1995
#76 for 1996
Well, this was a surprise hit for Belinda Carlisle this year, she last troubled the charts five years prior with "Live your life be free" from the album of the same name which became her first album to not be released in her native America. I'm guessing this was a hit to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her solo single "Mad about you," the times may have changed but Belinda's appeal certainly hadn't.
#77 for 1996
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#68 for 1998
There were no signs of Guns n Roses slowing down this year as they released the third single from the Use your illusions era which was this cover of the James Bond classic. I guess the original remains one of the best remembered Bond themes due to how bombastic it is (it's my personal favourite despite not being a Wings fan) so it makes sense that these guys would take a stab at it and find success.
#83 for 1992
This was meant to be the third single to be released from Five's debut album, although it was pushed back to be the fourth single likely due to them having the same "na na na's" as what Will Smith had on his hit "Getting jiggy with it" from the previous year. The similarities didn't prevent this from being a hit here in Australia for the British boy band, although I'm sure Will Smith fans weren't happy about this.
#70 for 1999
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#75 for 1995
#77 for 1996
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#69 for 1998
The legends are true people, Jennifer Love Hewitt did in fact have a singing career before she transitioned into acting beginning earlier in the decade as a teen pop idol similar to that of Alanis Morissette. Like the Canadian singer/songwriter, she transitioned into a more mature singer/songwriter with this track that was written for the second film in the I know what you did last summer franchise which she also happened to star in.
#71 for 1999
This was the last hit that Roxette had over in America, although the rest of the world would keep them around a little while longer given how well they had aged into the 90's from their 80's material on their album Joyride. Here we have Marie trying to cope with a breakup she went through and how that person makes her have conflicting emotions about how it ended, it was a surefire hit for the duo thanks to the complicated feelings she provides in the lyrics.
#82 for 1991
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#79 for 1991
This was the only notable success for Berri, a British singer who initially flopped with this cover of an Elkie Brooks track in her native UK before finding success with a remix from the EDM group New Atlantic's. This allowed the track to become a huge success here in Australia given how much we loved EDM this decade, although it flopped across Europe despite it being a huge hit in her homeland.
#75 for 1995
#78 for 1996
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#78 for 1996
Aah contractual obligations, they make you do things you would otherwise never dream of doing such as forcing you to reunite with a band that were best known for kiddie pop a decade prior to getting back together with them. This was the fate that New edition found themselves in this year as they were forced to finish their contract by releasing an album this year which spawned this big hit for them in Australia and NZ.
#79 for 1996
Well, this was a huge hit for both Technotronic and mashup singles, so why not have this song which essentially combines both aspects be a huge success here in Australia?
#85 for 1990
The song this live concert is paying homage to was originally released by Abba from their 1977 self-titled album which was clearly meant to be a homage to the music of the 40's and 50's given that was no doubt the music which made Abba want to become musicians. So basically, we have a live rendition of a song that was made in the 70's which in turn was paying homage to music from the first half of the century.
#72 for 1999
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#80 for 1991
It looked like the album cycle for Achtung baby had come to an end when this single was released, however that wasn't the case as the song became a surprise hit here in Australia during the summer of 1992/1993 which kept the album going for over a year after its initial release. It was the final single from the album as they went back to the studio to record Zooropa after this.
#84 for 1992
#81 for 1993
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#76 for 1994
This was the third and final hit that Corona was able to achieve this year worldwide, this time it's a song about how the narrator wants you to give them a try in a relationship which I'm sure many people were open to the idea of given how infectious the single remains to this day. They would disappear from the music industry after this to allow La Bouche to take over the mainstream with their album.
#76 for 1995
This is the closest that Suzanne Vega will ever have to having a hit single worldwide, although this is more of a DNA track hence why they're credited as the main artist on this hit. The original is an a Cappella track from her album Solitude standing, however the British duo added production to the ballad which helped it become a hit on the radio and also made them an in-demand production team going forward.
#86 for 1990
Kulcha was a NZ band based in Australia who of course managed to score a hit with their debut single both here and in their homeland this year, I guess its success was inevitable even though it's from the new jack swing genre which didn't do well in Australia throughout the 90's. I guess the quartet did resist the urge to "boom shaka laka" even though the song was clearly inspired by the phrase.
#75 for 1994
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#76 for 1995
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#79 for 1996
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#74 for 1997
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#81 for 1991
This was the only hit that British band Voice of the beehive were able to achieve in Australia, likely due to it being a cover of the biggest hit that the Partridge family had two decades prior albeit as a pop rock tune in an attempt to modernise the wholesome original. I will say that I do prefer this track even if it's admittedly more dated than the original, I think it's due to how "radical" they were trying to be on here.
#85 for 1992
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#77 for 1994
I'm guessing the world wasn't as on board with MJ's environmental songs back in the day as they were with the rest of his catalogue given how this was the only song of his in that vein to become a massive success here in Australia. It was the third single from his double album History past present and future which has largely been overshadowed by the other tracks on the album over the years.
#77 for 1995
#80 for 1996
Given how she received critical acclaim for her role as the titular Evita (a rare feat for Madonna in Hollywood) it only makes sense that her showstopping rendition of the signature track from the original concept album would be a huge success for her this year. This was pushed back as the second single due to the film wanting to push her Oscar winning ballad "You must love me" as the lead single from the album.
#81 for 1997
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#75 for 1997
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#80 for 1990
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#82 for 1991
This was the last hit that Belinda Carlisle had for five years in Australia, although she did come back later in the decade when "In too deep" became a surprise hit for her in 1996 exclusively down under. I'm guessing we Aussies needed more from her than her amazing vocals to make her a household name this far into the 90's, to be fair she did do better than what you'd otherwise expect given this never saw the light of day in America.
#83 for 1991
I guess it was inevitable that these Disney ballads would find mainstream success given how they were all sweeping the academy awards throughout the Disney renaissance. Here we have the second ballad to win best original song which was this duet between Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle covering the love ballad from the magic carpet scene from the movie Aladdin. It was a number one hit on Billboard and a huge success throughout the rest of the world.
#82 for 1993
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#80 for 1993
Well, this was a bit of a surprise hit for Paula Abdul, even in her native America she hadn't had any success since her sophomore album from earlier in the decade and yet here she is scoring a hit in Australia with something that sounds like it belongs in the world music genre.
#78 for 1995
This was Leann Rimes only hit as a country artist in Australia, oh she would go on to have massive success in the new millennium as a pop star, however she began her career as a country singer with tracks such as this ballad. Considering she was only fourteen years old when she released this song, it's impressive that her vocals are this strong considering what most fourteen-year-olds sound like.
#81 for 1996
Well, I can certainly see where P Diddy earned his reputation of being a derivative producer when many of his own songs have him using such obvious samples, although he did do a great job for his clientele in the east coast hip hop wars such as Biggie Smalls and Ma$e. Here he samples the Led zeppelin classic "Kashmir" and even has the blessing of Jimmy page as he provides new vocals to go with this theme to the Godzilla remake.
#73 for 1998
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#81 for 1993
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#77 for 1995
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#80 for 1996
This was yet another double release that became a hit in the late 90's in Australia, although at least there's nowhere in the world where either of these songs were released individually so it's not like we Aussies bundled them together because we wanted to or anything. I guess "Who do you think you are" is the lead single from this release given how it's a disco revival track whereas "Mama" is one of the more subdue tracks that often slips under their radar.
#82 for 1997
Following the commercial disappointment of "What do I have to do" (which sadly won't be appearing on this list) Kylie decided to have the fourth and final single from Rhythm of love have a guest rap verse that didn't appear on the album on the single which paid off as it was able to become a success for her here and in the UK. Said rap verse has largely been lost to the sands of time due to it not adding much to the track.
#84 for 1991
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#83 for 1991
This was the third single to come from Culture beat's one and only album, although it was released around the time Serenity hit shelves, so it likely boosted the success of the album for the band this year. They would metaphorically pass the baton to Corona who would also score three hits from their one and only album (albeit without any rapping) before they passed the baton to La Bouche the following year.
#76 for 1994
Following the demise of Shakespear's sister, Marcella Detroit managed to score a solo hit here in Australia with this ballad proving that had they kept things together, we would've supported the duo going forward this decade. Apparently, they couldn't agree upon whether they should be wacky like Siobahn's previous band Bananarama or go in a more serious direction like Marcella wanted to.
#77 for 1994
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#70 for 1999
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#84 for 1991
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#78 for 1994
This was one of many hits this decade that relied on nostalgia baiting to give it success for (then) modern audiences, in this case Pato Banton has Ali Campbell of UB40 fame cover the song from the Equals in order to given him a chorus to connect his own verses. The song was a massive hit with this formula worldwide, and likely prompted the likes of the Fugees and Warren G to follow suit.
#79 for 1995
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#81 for 1996
#76 for 1997
Next were one of the more popular RNB groups of the 90's, even so I don't think they were expecting to score a hit in Australia with their Billboard chart topper due to how RNB had only recently become more popular here over the last few years. Indeed, the note for note cover that Blue made a few years later would be a bigger hit down under, although at least the original was a success this year.
#74 for 1998
I guess Rick Astley wasn't done with the music industry after the failure of his second album, so he cut ties with Stock Aiken and Waterman to release a third album which did slightly better this year likely due to him going in a more down to earth direction with his music. This change in direction only worked for this one song as it was more in line with the adult contemporary of this year than his earlier work.
#85 for 1991
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#82 for 1992
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#79 for 1994
Following the success of their cover of a Carly Simon classic, Chocolate starfish released their second single "All over me" which was a flop for them, potentially rendering them a one hit wonder. Fortunately, this third single from their album was a huge success and saw a more mature side of the band, thus allowing the album to become a huge success for them this year.
#78 for 1994
This was a massive success for Pearl Jam likely due to the popularity of its key song "I got ID" which was heavily flogged on the radio at the time. Indeed, this kept the bands momentum going as their next two albums would be a massive success for them during a time their peers would struggle for popularity.
#80 for 1995
#82 for 1996
We won't be looking at "Jesus to a child" on this list as it wasn't enough of a hit to qualify for this list, however that wasn't the case for the third single from George's comeback album which was given its own E.P to help it stand out from the competition that came from much younger artists at the time. George would score a few more hits in his career before he faded into obscurity here in Australia.
#83 for 1996
This was originally the debut single for the Backstreet boys released three years prior, due to the success of their second album, their first album was given a second chance this year where it became a modest success for the boys. All of this led to them winning the boy band wars by their third album the following year.
#75 for 1998
One of the better animated films of the decade was the Prince of Egypt, it's an adaptation of the story of Moses from the bible which tells the story in a way that makes both Moses and Ramases sympathetic to the audience which made it become a critical and commercial success upon its initial release. The theme song came from two of the biggest divas of the decade which ended up winning an academy award for the film.
#76 for 1998
#73 for 1999
Well Sisqo's success the following year had to come from somewhere, so here's the final hit that his band Dru hill had before he embarked on a solo career which began with his infamous song "Thong song." This has nothing to do with the Bee gees classic of the same name, I'd just thought I'd mention that here as there were two RNB covers of that track throughout the decade from Portrait and Take that.
#74 for 1999
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#81 for 1990
This was the second single to be released from the Use your illusions era, although technically it was the first as their earlier entry on this list was originally meant for the Terminator 2 soundtrack before being included on the second edition. I'm not sure if was meant to be two albums or one excruciatingly long double album conceptually, either way both volumes became a massive worldwide success for them.
#86 for 1991
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#80 for 1994
This was the second volume of the Unforgiven trilogy that Metallica released, as I said this was the biggest hit of the trilogy likely due to it being more pop friendly than the first entry from seven years prior.
#77 for 1998
